Shoe-shank support and shoe.



N0.897,os2. PATENTED AUG.25,1908.

- W. THOMPSON.

SHOE SHANK SUPPORT AND SHOE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31,1907.

Wessex. -v Y will/i am fa @mimnrj Vnslznily h v o1" the heel anni the rear end el' thc tap or cori to is .il new lef .le er .e uw

Will-'LUSH THOMPSON, OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

No. SET/,832. Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 25, 1908.

T il mmm. 'moy com ,rm

`l l, fit/inermi llnomreom e .inrit-.il 2li/etch', and e resilient of iol-@nenn oupnorts and description, 1n si, 'y the eceminion/ing drawings, A ixllycetion, lske iet fre on the drawings Meeting like perle.

,in nml-:ingr shoes cnetrnnerv to have thel arch ci they loot eupg'iortefl h v e 'Stillened shook,l 'seni etillcnmg lie/lng eccomphshed islet-:ne between the i' rwerd ond i ,s

responding portion of the eolie, e etih" piece of spring' steel, Wood, or other etiifening nmtcriol vrposeil between the sole und. innersole.' 'l' hav recovers-.i that e much more scie-aetory :unl cornici-table shoe can ce inznle by proif'illing, ir r-ztcl oi i; is kind of' e shi-11l-s'till' er which l have inst explained, e projectingi support lieve the heel which terminates' @een nnvielrling ohetnient or hrice :it about the middle o' the length of the shrink, thereby leaving the entire forward portion of the shank lire/ely iicv'lole. Accorclimgljr, l have provided a. sti 'ng piece interposed hetw in 4the heel and. the innerl- .L Y l'. *t w -l l- 3 extenoing: il; ioiwenl like e. centehver, to 'the or the eren or shank,

whore i tori ehrnptly, the entire pro- ]eetion being onyieldine, heilig formed et its refer cnil to correspon@ to the shape of the heel el El loot, so that it anchored end held rigicll oy the heel, rrntl having; Strong Stili', thin end projecting, with .e slightly downward. curve its end, forward. from the normal breitet line of the heel, to the middle of the shank, for rneventing the arch of the toot from hreeking clown, or for restoring; it :mit supporting it if broken down, The forward portion el the She-nh of the shoe he vond the cnrl ci' f contaliveielieie stiflener is ielt Qerleetl'j; f 2 to heini up and down and to conform to the requirements of the foot.

lvlv invcn n is e erinnert, het not e Stili- "net, as connimnlj," unile eccoti, it aime 'to leave the :..ioe .L ore l exible than before By reason of this;` invention the ordinary low shoe or llziorrl edstptefil to general use. At present many people ce ot weer @Mortis because of the leek el support et the counter.`

I broken out to show the interne portion of the l into the p Lpplicfition lled May 31, 1907. Serial No. 376,593.

` upper which extends forward to the forepert Aol 'the shoe, sind hence, unless'the shoe is e. tight lit about the heel of the foot, there is cpt to be more or less looseness and e noticeable lock of support to the foot, especially the enkle. By reason of in v invention, howenfer,A the heel-enveloping portion of the upper is held up against the heel of the foot firmly end with considerable' supportin" resistance, thereby susteining vthe heel by t e shank, but leavingr the forward part entirely iexible.

One advantage of my invention isthet it leaves the nerve conter of the foot easy and liexihle, it being well understood that the .nervo center of the foot is just et the forward end. of the rtz-ch bool; of the ball of the foot.

ln practice, l have found that, on this ec-` count, the shoe does not produce the fatigue commonly experienced, and isexceedingly comfortable.

ln the drawings, in. which l have illustrated my invention, Figiirej, is a side elevation of my improved shoe, Portion being construction which constitutes my invention; Fig. 2 is@ view of the blank from which the shanlr* stit'cner or heel support is formed; Fig. 3 is a, side elevation of the shank stniener; end

Fi'gs. 4 and 5 ere sectional views teken on the lines 4 4, 5 5, Fig. 3; and Fig. '6 is a sectional view through the lower part of the shoe on the line 6 6, Fig. l.

\ .lt will he understood that the shoe l may he oi any usual or preferred construction, including e welt 2 extending u wardly in `proper arched shape et the sha. 3 and en mn'ersole or linin Ll, heel 5, counter portion or heel end 6 of t e upper-, and forward part or foot portion 7 of the vamp. I first take e blank 8, preerebly shaped as shown in Fig. 2, having ll-shaped notches 9. adjeoentits opposite ends. This blankis formed preterebly of romperetively heavy sheet steel or other suitable strongl' resistivemiaterial. I

bend the edges inward y alongthe dotted lines l0, end curve the remportion downwardly et l1 end up werflly therefrom in both directions for about two thirds of its length, es shown et i2, and Clownwel'lly at iront enel 13, hendlng the corners of the blank upwardly 'niet to constitute grieks or prongs 14 .for engeging the lcetlrr end automatically holding.

the shank egeinst en possible Shifting move-- ment. The glpi/verd y bent edges constitute supportm 'iienges 15 which prcticelly merge eine olthe body .i6 of thestifener ciently narrow to occuoy '47 sind peri ,middle shank und neei without intertering in any way with the transverse eurvature oi the shank and the requirements necesl sary in order to give a desii'abie finish and .greife to the shoe as an article of m anuneture, sind yet being suiiieiently strong and having 'the right downward curvature at its forward ond to cooperate with the Shania in support ing the heel portion of an Oxford or low-cut shoe, said short iorwardly-extending part of the stiiiener terminating ,in ell instances shout midwa of the length of the shank, ti back of t e nerve center to which l have referred. l

Having described my invention7 what I claim as'new end desire to secure by Letters Feten?, is,

. A .'hoe, comprising en up er, sole, heel en d insole, and having en unyie ding stiii'ener interposed shove the heel between the insole and sole, 'said stiii'ener terminating in en' iinyieiding forward end midway of the length of 'the shank :and having its unyielding rear end terminating nem* the rear ol the heel, the rear portion of saidA unyielding stiiiener being curved from near the middle of the stiiiener downwardly toward the rear end for a short distance and thence curved upwardly the remaining distance to said rear end to conform to thc heel of the foot, end tho forward unyiohling Jx'iortion of said stiifener being curved from the near middle of the stifi'cner upwardly toward the front ond for approximately haii the distance to said front end and them-,o do'.-,'nward!y the remainder of the distance to said. iront ond to iit the shank.

2. A. shoe, comprising en upper, solo, heel and, insole, and having a rigid stifcner interposed between the insole and solo and eX- the longitudinal' senese tending above the heel, said stiiener terminating in an unyieldingl forward end midway of the length of the shank f the shoe, and terminatin in an unyielding rear end neer the rear o the heel, to rovide an unyielding bracing abutment within the shank oroecting from and sup orted ri 'dly at the .ee the rear portion o seid sti vener being curved downwardly from the normal breast line of the heel rearwardly and thence u Wardly to its extreme end to conform to t e heel of the foot, andthe forward portion of said stil'ener from said breast line having a Apermanent unyieldingv curve corres ending.

to the normal curve o he shank, an having at its opposite ends integral retaining means for preventing shifting of position.

i 3. A shank stiiener, having 'its body portion unyielding in any direction `and reversely curved toward its op osite ends, said stiffener' being provided wit 1 opposite side flanges shallow at their opposite ends and g'ijadua, 1y increasing in vertical width intermediate said ends,v rendering the stiiienerlengthwise unyielding, said stilfener being provided with retaining prongs m'rangedto extend intotho adjacent layer of ieether forpreventin'g longitudinal movement. f

4. A 'shankstifener formed from 'an ggf proximately parallel-sided blank,' said stl ener being curved from one: end down-` wardly and. thence 'upwardiyto a uniform concave-convex shape'. for approximately two thirds of the length oil-the stiiiener fro A` said end, the remaining thirdlof said stlfener being curved in -a reversedirection to a. simi- VY l I ALIAM THOMPSON,

,'Witnesses:

' M. J. SPALmNo,

GEO. ll. MAXWELL.

ler but, shorter "eoncavo-convex lsha e, one

downwar ly ami 

